Now Enjoying

How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the only solution that REALLY works)

by Luca Filigheddu on January 22, 2009

  • Buffer
  • Pin It
  • Buffer
  • Pin It
BlackBerry Bold
Image by edans via Flickr

After a month of intensive usage of my Blackberry Bold, I can definitely say the only issue I faced so far is the synchronization between the device and my Macbook.

Unfortunately RIM hasn’t released a Desktop Manager for Mac yet. They recommend to use PocketMac, a crappy software which never works.

The alternative used by most Mac users seemed to be “The Missing Sync“. The company behind it announced the full support of the Bold in November. As many Mac users, I bought (yes, bought) it immediately but after some weeks I realized it’s definitely a useless application which basically doesn’t work at all.

To be honest, the guys of The Missing Sync admitted some issues, in particular problems while trying to keep the address book in sync. In a nutshell, you cannot modify/add contacts on your device, but have to make all the changes/additions from your Mac. My feedback? Crap. It doesn’t work at all and it usually fails to sync some (many) contacts. I have over 3000 contacts and just a percentage of them are copied/synced to the device. I also tried the version 2.0 beta, but it neither succeeded in connecting to the device… fails.

So, is there any solution somewhere? Unfortunately the answer is: NO. At least, nothing that can be used through an USB cable or bluetooth. The only method I found to be successful is through Google. Yes, through an application called Google Sync, completely supported by the BB Bold.

screen-capture-505

By downloading this application, you have the ability to synchronize your Gmail contacts and Google Calendar items with your Bold (OTA, On The Air, that is by using your wifi / 3G connection). At the same time, by adding Google Synchronization to both iCal and Address Book, here is the perfect working solution to solve your problems.

Any change to your BB is synchronized with Google that, at the same time, is synchronized with your Mac apps. You can also make changes from your Google apps on the web or from your Mac and everything is kept up to date.

First of all, I highly recommend to export your Mac address book and import it into Gmail. Then install Google Sync on your BB and sync it for the first time. Booom (is this a trade mark for this word?!? :-) , your contacts are transferred to you BB then synchronized automatically every hour.

Please leave your comments down here and if you found out a better solution, please let me know. In the meantime, please DON’T buy The Missing Sync, I’ll get back to them to ask for a money back.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

This post was written by

Luca Filigheddu – who has written posts on Tech Genial.
Twimbow CEO, blogger, , geek, early adopter, italian, san francisco, twitter addict, piano player, taekwondo, love gadgets, proud dad and husband.

Email

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...



Why I run my blog on Thesis Wordpress Theme

Get Thesis

Thesis gives my blog a very professional look with very clean, easy-to-read layout and SEO friendly design. Take a look at my post explaining why I chose Thesis for my blog. Get your Thesis Theme today!


Post comment as twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest
SimonDKemp 5 pts

I had the same experience with PocketMac - it really buggered up my address book. I ended up getting my mobile carrier (optus/SingTel) to admit that they did not have a clue and they registered a problem with RIM who gave me a problem number which enabled me to call RIM direct. 30 mins on the phone and they identified two little deposits that PockjetMac had left in my BBBold - then it all worked perfectly for a week. Now I am back where I was - well not entirely - I can back up and iCal and pics and music syncs but not address book which of course is what I really want. I will call them again. The new desktop for mac has made a big difference. Like another reader I have tried iphone but I just don't like it. Hot key dialing on a BB - push and hold any one of 25 keys - great! email service just fantastic! And now you can add BB free texting to an iphone free texting anywhere in the world on the BB service. Hot key dialing on the iPhone - what an convoluted wank! I set it up but it still takes three button pushes whichever way you go. Lastly - I take a quite a few work pics with my BB and i acn bluetooth them to my mac easilu, albeit one at a time, but with iPhone - no can do!

MOBILEPHONE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
SUITE 900 KEMP HOUSE 152-160,
CITY ROAD, LONDON, EC1V 2NX UK.
PHONE: +447924511501
SYPE:MOBILEPHONE.INT
YM:mphone_int@yahoo.com
www.mobilephoneinternationalltd.com
E-MAIL:info@mobilephonesinternationalltd.com

Carrier: Indosat, Telkomsel, XL, AT&T (GSM based), T-Mobile
Technology: 3G EURO Standard, Quad Band 850/900/1800/1900

Apple Ipod 160GB
Apple Ipod 80Gb
Apple Ipod 60Gb
Apple iPhones 3G 16GB
Apple iphone 3GS 32gb

BRAND NEW APPLE IPHONE 32GB 3GS FACTORY UNLOCKED BLACK & WHITE ($370)

Package Content
================
# 1 Apple Stereo Ear Buds with micphone
# 1 Apple Dock
# 1 Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable
# 1 Apple USB power adapter wall charger
# 1 Apple iPhone User Guide
# 1 Apple Cleaning/polishing cloth
# 1 Apple Original Box (Collector’s item)

Blackberry Curve 8900
BlackBerry Storm 9530
Blackberry Bold 9000
BlackBerry Storm 9500

PACKAGE CONTENT:
====================
Free 2GB micro SD
Free Phone Holder
Free Pouch
Free Head Set
Free USB
Free CD Tools Software
Home Charger
Battery With Back Door
User Guide + Free One Year warranty
and 100% Brand New Phone

Nokia N900 32GB
Nokia N97 32 gb
Nokia X6 32gb

Nikon D200 - $900
Nikon D200 - Nikon AF-S DX 18-200mm lens $600
Nikon D60 - Nikon AF-S DX 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses $800

BUY 5UNITS AND GET 2 UNIT FREE
BUY 3 UNITS AND GET 1 UNIT FREE

Delivery Time:
We deliver the products purchased directly to your doorstep 48hours after the
confirmation your payment! We ship the consignment via
FedEx,UPS & DHL.

MR RICARDO CASTRO
SALE,S MANAGER.
PHONE: +447924511501
SYPE:MOBILEPHONE.INT
YM:mphone_int@yahoo.com
GMTALK:mphone.int@gmail.com
www.mobilephoneinternationalltd.com

awesome tutorial, it really helpful for me

MY PHONE SHOP LIMITED
Registered No.05702394
25 SANDY WAY, YEADON,
LEEDS, LS19 7EW UK.
(+44)-703-597-2322
http://www.biojava.qsh.in/myiphoneshopsite/

ORDER
INFORMATION :Minimum
Order :1-10units
Shipping Method :FedEx Dhl and UPS.
Delivery Time : 24-48hrs Delivery To Your Door Step.

MY PHONE SHOP LIMITED We are specialized in all brand new mobile phones like Samsung , Nokia , Qtek , Imate , Palm Treo ,Sony Ericsson , Sidekick , Nextel and many more,They are cheap and unlocked with 12 month international warranty.We sell them in Bulk and in Retails ,We shipped inconjunction with fedEx Express, they shipped within 48hrs to your door step. It is a Buy two and get one for free.

We look forward in placing your Order with Us and giving you the most competent services as we are Using this Medium to Look For Buyers.

APPLE IPHONE 3G 8GB:€170 euro
APPLE IPHONE 3G 16GB:€200 euro
APPLE IPHONE 3G S 32GB:€250 euro
Apple Ipod 60Gb video €120 euro
Apple Ipod 30Gb video €100 euro

Blackberry:
BlackBerry Bold 9000 -- 160euro
BlackBerry Curve 8320 -- 145euro
BlackBerry 8830 World Edition -- 150euro

HTC Touch Diamond -- 200euro
HTC Advantage X7500 ------- 210euro
HTC S710 Smartphone -- 180euro
HP iPAQ rx5915 ------- 170euro
HP iPAQ HW6945 GPS --- 150euro

Nokia N97 32gb.......€300 euro
Nokia N96 16gb...... €250 euro
Nokia 8800.......... €200 euro
Nokia 5800 Xpress Music...€180euro

Sony PSP Giga Pack ............€80 euro
Sony PSP Value Pack............€90 euro
Nintendo wii Console...........€150 euro
Xbox 360 Platinum System ......€170 euro

Microsoft Xbox 360 Core System. €175 euro
Playstation 2..................€110 euro
Playstation 3 (20 GB)..........€ 200 euro
Playstation 3 (60 GB)..........€220 euro
Playstation 3 (120 GB)..........€280 euro

Toshiba Satellite 2.2GHz w/DVD/CDRW Laptop Computer:€550
Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513 Laptop:€700 euro
Toshiba Satellite 2.0GHz Pentium M Laptop Computer:€650 euro

Sony VAIO N110W 1.86GHz Core Solo Laptop:€550 euro
Sony VAIO VGN-N220E/W Notebook:€450 euro
Sony VAIO VGN-FJ290L1B Notebook:€500 euro
Sony VAIO VGN-FS875P/H Notebook:€500 euro

BONANZA:
Buy 2 units and get 1 unit FREE.
Buy 5 units and get 2 units FREE including shipping
Buy 10 units and get 5 units FREE including shipping

EMAIL:
MY_PHONESHOP@YAHOO.COM
MY_PHONESHOP@HOTMAIL.COM

SKYPE:MY_PHONESHOP
YM CHART ID:PHONE_DELIVERY

MAKERTING DEPT.
SALES MANAGER.
Dhari Al Fares.
(+44)-703-597-2322

Your blog is timely reinforcement about the purpose of blogs and what I aspire to as well. Really good one!
regards
charcoal grill

good pst
Blackberry phones

thank you so much. to hell with pocketmac. what a waste of my time it was. you helped me solve a big problem. thank you so much.

------Messaggio originale------
Da: Disqus
A:Luca Filigheddu
Oggetto: [lucafiligheddu] Re: How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the onlysolution that REALLY works)
Inviato: 18 Lug 2009 15:17

NOTE: This comment is waiting for your approval. You may respond in the body with "Delete" to delete this comment, "Approve" to approve this comment, or "Spam" to mark this comment as spam. You may also reply with your response to automatically approve the comment and post your response at the same time.

At this point, google sync is not working either. Does anyone have a good way to sync photos or music between mac and bb?

what about bbm pins? does that sync? and if you were to loose your phone and get a new one, how would you get all of ur info into your new phone?

what about bbm pins? does that sync? and if you were to loose your phone and get a new one, how would you get all of ur info into your new phone?

This is awesome! Thank you so much. I am a mac user and an ex iphone user. I just switched to the blackberry (which i had before but just HAD to try the iphone). The iphone really sucked - aside for the bells and whistles - the typing situation is just way to difficult and you never get great at it. All hype. The ONLY reason I kept it for as long as I did was because I loved how everything just synced from my mac to my mobile me account to my iphone. Easy. When I heard about Missing Sync I figured this was my way back to Blackberry land. I just got the Bold and literally spent a full day trying to get the Missing Sync to work (pocket mac total waste of time.) After a million hours and a big headache- USB issue blah blah blah - i finally got the MS to work - only to realize it's not all that great. Luckily I was just using the demo - but regardless - don't bother unless you want to transfer files etc (which i do not). It's a product that's really an illusion and has way too many issues.

This google sync is perfect! Now i can sync my contacts from my computer which syncs to my google account which syncs to my blackberry and vice versa. Same goes for the calender. Perfect solution and it doesn't cost you a dime!

spanning sync is the program to get. pretty cheap $25 and that will sync your address book and ical to your google account which will then sync to your bb. any changes made on your mac, google or bb will sync to the others :-)

THANK YOU for finally putting in one place what I've had to comb the internet to read in different places. And please do post if you ever find a cleaner solution. My concern is for the privacy of my address book in a google setting.

I think yes.
------Messaggio originale------
Da: Disqus
A:Luca Filigheddu
Oggetto: [lucafiligheddu] Re: How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (theonly solution that REALLY works)
Inviato: 2 Feb 2009 21:40

HK <hiklein@sympatico.ca> (unregistered) wrote, in response to luca filigheddu:

Nice..... I can't type on the keyboard with my fat thumbs and hence the Storm. Seriously, do you think it will work?

Link: http://www.lucafiligheddu.com/2009/01/how-to-sy...

--
You may reply to this email to post your response. To turn off notifications, go to your Disqus settings at: http://disqus.com/settings/notifications/

Sent from my BlackBerry®

Luca Filigheddu
+39 393 9386510
luca.filigheddu@abbeynet.com

Nice..... I can't type on the keyboard with my fat thumbs and hence the Storm. Seriously, do you think it will work?

Dear Luca,

I was very excited when i read your post, as I have been suffering with syncing my bold to my MAC. I have several points though that I need some guidance in:

1. I went to the ical and address box and it doesn't give me the option to sync with google? So, how can I sync with google in a 2 way sync for free (As I read that there is this thing called spanning from MAC"

2. If I have contacts in my BB, will it also sync to the google contacts and address book ?

Thanks !

Yes, give it back to the shop and get a bold! :-)

------Messaggio originale------
Da: Disqus
A:Luca Filigheddu
Oggetto: [lucafiligheddu] Re: How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (theonly solution that REALLY works)
Inviato: 29 Gen 2009 20:25

Any advice on syncing the "Storm" to the Mac?

I had the exact same experience with Missing Sync. I bought it about a week after they issued a press release stating that their product was now Bold compatible. The product flat out doesn't work. I had to perform the same workaround you describe - basically trash Missing Sync from my computer and go with the free Google Sync. I would avoid anything from the Missing Sync folks as the product just flat out didn't work for me.

GREAT, It works very well and it is quick.
Thanks.
Greg

The alpha version of Missing Sync for BlackBerry 2.0 seems to work ok with the Bold.

me,

you don't need any BB Desktop. You just sync your BB directly via OTA with Google with the help of GooSync. And you can access Goole from your Mac, iPhone or whatever browser.
So you always have a reliable backup that is always in sync (as long as you keep it in sync).

It is much wiser (in my opinion) to have one copy on a mobile and second one in a cloud.

it's worth noting that BB desktop 4.7 is really flaky running in parallels/windows, I couldn't get it to connect to my BB8830 via USB or BT.

BB Desktop for Mac is rumored out in the first half of the year.

Luca,

Have you looked at GooSync? It keeps BB (or Nokia) in sync with Google.

Trackbacks

  1. have I): SocialScope, the new Social Networks Aggregator for BlackBerry (Note:  SocialScope is still in alpha as they work out client/server balance, scaling and user interface issues – follow @socialscope for on ongoing dialogue)How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the only solution that REALLY works)Why Google Sync was his sole recommendation. David’s Posterous: Why I ditched my iPhone for a BlackBerry Bold. Give a New Look to Your BlackBerry: Vista Themes How I

  2. Peppy apps for ‘BlackBerry’ing | Job Searching Blog says:

    [...] How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the only solution that REALLY works) [...]

  3. [...] How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the only solution that REALLY works) (lucafiligheddu.com) Related Posts:How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the only solution that REALLY works)SocialScope, the new Social Networks Aggregator for BlackBerryWhy Multitasking on Mobile Devices MattersFriendFeed Client for Blackberry availableWhy The BlackBerry Bold is Way Better than The iPhone 3G (for business) [...]

  4. [...] How To Sync your BlackBerry Bold with a Mac (the only solution that REALLY works) (lucafiligheddu.com) [...]